Stuart Speaks – On MPs

Stuart Warwick, Deputy Leader.

I’m not a genius, which is handy as it doesn’t take one to work out that something is wrong with our drug laws. It also doesn’t take a genius to look at the huge amount of evidence to support the use of cannabis as a safer recreational drug, and as a very effective and wide ranging medicine, and compare that to the continual policy of complete prohibition by successive governments and not only wonder WHY they continue to do it, ignoring all the evidence and mis-representing the facts, or just making facts up, but HOW they manage to continually do it, and get away with it.

Unfortunately modern politics seems to be no longer about ‘doing the right thing for the country’ it’s about power and money and how to get, and keep, as much of both as possible. Politics is no longer a vocation, it’s a career choice, and as a result, personal gain and success will often come before doing the right thing, and we let them get away with it, electing the same self serving breed as before, maybe just changing the colour. MPs are the only people who can change the law, and they will only do that when they see they can gain something from it, regardless of the facts presented to them, or rather, regardless of the facts offered to them that they choose to ignore, and I can say that with some experience, both my current and former MP’s (Justin Tomlinson and Michael Wills) were both more than happy to meet with me to discuss the issues surrounding cannabis, but both brushed aside looking at any evidence I offered them, seemingly in favour of ‘toeing the party line’ and continuing to support a failed policy.

As a political party, Cannabis Law Reform not only hopes to take votes away from the current crop of corrupt politicians (how else can you describe people that don’t listen to fact based evidence, and continues to support a prohibition based policy that has so obviously failed for so long), but also to put them into contact with recreational and medical users in their constituency and make sure that they receive the factual information they casually ignore. Until the six million regular users of cannabis stand up for themselves MPs are not likely to make any changes to the current policy, and we will continue to be easy pickings to fill check boxes on Home Office targets, even though we hurt no one.

It’s time to make a stand, I’m sure that’s CLEAR to everyone.